*
Baker, E. D. :
Wings: A Fairy Tale
(Bloomsbury 978-1-59990-193-0, $16.99, 307pp, hardcover, May 2008)
Young adult fantasy novel about a girl who sprouts wings, then learns her parents adopted her from fairyland.
•
The publisher's site has this description. The author's site has the same description, along with links to FAQs about her other books, news, school visits, etc.
•
Carolyn Cushman reviews the book in the May issue of Locus Magazine, calling it a "sweet young-adult fantasy" and concluding "It's a fun adventure, but lacks the edge of similar YA contemporary fantasies."
|
*
Cook, Glen :
Cruel Zinc Melodies
(Roc 978-0451461926, $7.99, 405pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
Fantasy novel, 12th in the series about detective P.I. Garrett that began with Sweet Silver Blues in 1987 and whose most recent volume was Whispering Nickel Idols (2005). In this book Garrett is hired by a group of beautiful women rid a new brewery of paranormal parasites.
•
The publisher's website has this description.
•
The Glen Cook Wiki has extensive articles about books in this series and Cook's other works.
|
*
Cornish, D. M. :
Monster Blood Tattoo, Book Two: Lamplighter
(Putnam 978-0-399-24639-5, $19.99, 715pp, hardcover, April 2008)
Young adult fantasy novel, second in the series following Foundling (2006), set in the world of Half-Continent, about an orphan boy named Rossamund. In this book Rossamund has trouble fitting in his new role as a lamplighter, whose duty is to light the lamps along the Emperor's highways.
•
This book's narrative is almost twice the length of the first book's, and like the first book's, is followed by 100 pages of appendices -- mostly an "Explicarium" (glossary), as well as maps and drawings of runes and characters.
•
The series has its own website, Monster Blood Tattoo, with character bios, samples from the Explicarium, etc.
•
Amazon has several blog posts by the author.
•
Carolyn Cushman reviewed it in the April issue of Locus Magazine: "This is a strange world where allies and enemies can be hard to distinguish, full of strange places and odd and twisted personalities and an old-fashioned style strongly reminiscent of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, a resemblance only reinforced by Cornish's striking character illustrations. Readers of all ages willing to immerse themselves in the weirdness and master Cornish's quirky language will find it vastly rewarding."
|
*
Gilman, Laura Anne :
Free Fall
(Luna 978-0-373-80267-8, $14.95, 345pp, trade paperback, May 2008)
Contemporary urban fantasy novel, fifth in the "Retrievers" series following Staying Dead (2004), Curse the Dark (2005), Bring It On (2006), and Burning Bridges (2007), about a woman with magical talents who specializes in finding things gone missing. In this book Wren Valare is determined to challenge the anti-fey Silence that threatens Manhattan once and for all.
•
The publisher's site has a description with a "Browse the Book" link to preview selected pages.
•
Amazon has an excerpt. The starred Publishers Weekly review, from its March 24th issue, said "With streamlined prose, Gilman deftly weaves intricate plot threads and complex relationships into an almost painful buildup of violent suspense. The result is an intelligent and utterly gripping fantasy thriller, by far the best of the Retrievers series to date."
•
Carolyn Cushman reviews the book in the May issue of Locus Magazine: "Things build to a thrilling, if somewhat chaotic peak, finally resolving the problem of the Silence in a powerful conclusion..."
|
*
Little, Denise, ed. :
Front Lines
(DAW 978-0756404789, $7.99, 306pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
Anthology of 21 original stories about war, from the perspectives of those doing the fighting.
•
The publisher's site has this description.
•
Authors include Kristine Kathryn Rusch, K.D. Wentworth, Cynthia Ward, J. Steven York, Nancy Jane Moore, and Dean Wesley Smith.
•
SFRevu has this review by Andrew Brooks: "...DAW has put together another solid collection."
|
*
Murphy, C. E. :
The Queen's Bastard
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-49464-1, $14, 432pp, trade paperback, May 2008, cover illustration Gene Mollica)
Historical fantasy novel, Book 1 of "The Inheritors' Cycle", set in an Elizabethan-era fantasy world and concerning the illegitimate daughter of a queen fighting to retain her throne.
•
Del Rey's site has this description, with blurbs from Kate Elliott and Marie Brennan, and an excerpt.
•
The author's website also an an excerpt.
•
The same excerpt in on Amazon, along with several enthusiastic reader reviews.
|
+
Sapkowski, Andrzej :
The Last Wish
(Orbit US 0-316-02918-1, $6.99, 359pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
Fantasy horror novel about Geralt de Riv, a killer-for-hire with sorcerous powers who hunts down monsters that plague the world.
•
The book is composed of six novellas, from "The Witcher" to "The Last Wish", linked by bridging passages titled "The Voice of Reason".
•
Sapkowski is a best-selling writer in Poland, where this book was published in 1993. A UK edition from Gollancz was published last year. It's the basis for the video game The Witcher.
•
Orbit's website has an excerpt.
|
*
Snodgrass, Melinda :
The Edge of Reason
(Tor 978-0-7653-1516-8, $24.95, 381pp, hardcover, May 2008)
Fantasy novel, the author's first novel in 20 some years, about an Albuquerque cop who becomes involved in an ancient battle between the forces of magic and religious fanaticism, and the cause of reason and technology.
•
Tor's site has this description with a blurb from George R.R. Martin: "If H.P. Lovecraft and H. L. Mencken had ever collaborated, they might have come up with something like The Edge of Reason . This one will delight thinkers -- and outrage true believers -- of all stripes."
•
The author's website has this PDF sample with the first 169 pages of the book.
|
*
Somers, Jeff :
The Digital Plague
(Orbit 978-0-316-02210-1, $12.99, 344pp, trade paperback, May 2008, cover illustration Jae Lee)
SF thriller, sequel to last year's The Electric Church, about killer-for-hire Avery Cates. In this book Cates is infected by nanobots that kill anyone he encounters, then reanimates the corpses.
•
The author's site has this flash page for the book, leading to a messageboard set in the book's world, in which citizens of Old NewYork are coming to grips with the plague that's taking over the city, containing an ARG-inspired puzzle. The puzzle for the first book was solved by members of Unfiction.
•
Amazon has reader reviews. The Publishers Weekly review said "Amid sometimes flat scenes of gunfighting, betrayal and nanotech zombie uprisings, Cates's noirish narrative voice stands out as the book's real strength."
|
*
Wright, John C. :
Null-A Continuum
(Tor 978-0-7653-1629-5, $25.95, 317pp, hardcover, May 2008, jacket art Bruce Jensen)
SF novel written as a sequel to classic SF novels The World of Null-A (1948) and The Players of Null-A (1956) by A.E. van Vogt, about a double-brained amnesiac (with "non-Aristotlean" mental powers), using the original author's pulp prose style.
•
In this book Gilbert Gosseyn battles galactic dictator Enro the Red in an ever-expanding plot that eventually spans all space and time.
•
Tor's website has this description.
•
Wright's website has this page for the book, with quotes from reviews -- Kirkus says "Must have been as much fun to write as it is to read." -- and an excerpt.
|
